Good morning, Baltimore: Need to know for Thursday

The Baltimore Sun

WEATHER

The National Weather Service is calling for Thursday to be mostly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 94 and southeast winds 5 to 8 miles per hour in the morning. Thursday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 76 and south winds around 6 miles per hour or less. Friday is expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 91 and winds around 5 miles per hour in the afternoon.

Two elementaries have 100 percent passing rates on MSAs: Nearly 90 percent of elementary students in Maryland are passing the statewide MSA tests, and 229 schools in Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties have at least a 90 percent pass rate, according to an analysis of Maryland State Department of Education data by The Baltimore Sun. Shipley's Choice Elementary in Millersville and Rodgers Forge Elementary near Towson both had 100 percent of students who passed the test, one of three elementaries in Baltimore County that were in the top dozen performing schools in the region. (Chadwick and Hillcrest elementaries were the others.)

O'Malley suggests procurement overhaul: As state officials took action to deal with a botched contract award, Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday that Maryland's procurement process needs an overhaul and perhaps a new watchdog. The governor's remarks came as the Board of Public Works approved spending $4.3 million to extend a contract to run a child-support enforcement call center while the Department of Human Resources seeks new bids. The extension was necessary after an appeals panel overturned the department's decision to award the work to a rival company.

Pit bulls not 'inherently dangerous' just yet: A controversial court ruling in April that pit bulls are "inherently dangerous" is not yet in effect and must survive an appeal before it can be applied as Maryland law, according to an opinion released this week by the state attorney general's office.

For frustrated BGE customers, even small bills too much: Sharon Mostyn and her family spent $1,500 to survive a week without power, buying a generator, a window air-conditioner and extra-long extension cords for their Towson home. But the thought of paying Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. another dime for the ordeal makes her mad. She might have to fork over some change for a coming bill, though. A state utility policy lets BGE levy a routine distribution fee on customers -- likely less than $1 -- even while they lacked electricity.

Foes of congressional map meet target: A Republican-led group trying to repeal Maryland's new congressional map has gathered enough valid signatures to trigger a referendum, the State Board of Elections said Wednesday. The map -- which one federal judge called a "blatant political gerrymander" -- was the result of the once-a-decade redistricting that must take into account population changes found by the census. But Democrats have acknowledged it was designed to give their party a strong chance of picking up a seventh seat in Maryland's eight-member delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Arundel police chief stepping down amid controversy: Embattled Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare Sr. agreed to retire next month, ending the criminal investigation of his role in the misconduct case against his boss, County Executive John R. Leopold. The sudden announcement Wednesday by the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office marks the highest-profile departure from government in the wake of the probe into Leopold's use of his police security detail. Within hours, Leopold named an acting chief.

Baltimore spending board votes down phone system contract: Baltimore's Board of Estimates rejected Wednesday a $7.4 million contract with IBM for a new phone system that has been at the center of a City Hall turf war -- a dispute that city officials said they would have to resolve before they could move forward with a deal.